Ian Machado Garry Says Colby Covington Is Scared Of Him

Ian Machado Garry is fighting Carlos Prates in the main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, but that doesn't mean his (very real) beef with rival Colby Covington has been squashed!

TMZ Sports caught up with the #7 ranked welterweight contender just days before his highly anticipated scrap ... and while we talked a bunch about Prates, we also asked about Chaos.

"There's a reason I've said it before and I'll say it again when that man [Covington] goes to bed and he closes his eyes, he fears me. He's never going to step into the Octagon with me and back it up and he knows why," Garry said.

Of course, the feud between Ian and Colby goes back to 2023 ... when the former interim champ made disparaging comments about Garry's wife, Layla. That kicked off a bunch of super intense trash talk.

Years later, it's clear Garry still feels a certain way about CC, the 9th-ranked contender, who last fought in December when he lost to Joaquin Buckley.

Despite Ian's doubt, maybe the fight happens down the road ... but, first things first.

Garry's coming off the first loss of his career, which came at the hands of 19-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov ... and he's intent on getting back in the win column.

"I'm becoming one of the veterans now in this division, but I'm also the youngest and most talented in the division. And I have a lot to prove to myself and to the world, and Carlos Prates is just the next opponent," Garry explained.

Some have questioned why Ian would take on a lower-ranked and dangerous opp ... a question the 27-year-old was well-prepared to answer.